Interprovincial transit study

The DCA sent the following letter to Marie Lemay, head of the NCC, regarding the interprovincial transit study now underway. These are our oft-repeated views on the transit strategy, we take each opportunity to reiterate them to the planners:

The Dalhousie Community Association represents an area from Bay Street to Bayview, from the Ottawa River to Dows Lake. As such, we are the neighborhood with three of the DOTT stations, and three north/south LRT stations, and three interprovincial bridges. We are constantly involved in transportation planning studies with the city and NCC.


With respect the current round of consultation regarding the Interprovincial Transit Study,

we like the following:

• LRT service for the loop connecting Ottawa and Gatineau
• use the Prince of Wales bridge in the west, in order to help ensure the success of the transit oriented development on the west side of the downtown
• use the Alexandra Bridge on the east. It will be good to reverse the earlier conversion of rail to road, to go back to rail.
• use the DOTT for the downtown Ottawa leg
• use surface rail through downtown Gatineau
• there is tremendous benefit to having an extraordinarily scenic transit right of way to help attract traffic, including tourists. Why do motorists get scenic routes and transit users the ditch?
• phase in the loop, constructing the Bayview - POW - Terraces de la Chaudiere - PDP/Museum portion first, later completing the route over the Alexandra to a tunnel starting at Majors Park to the Rideau Street LRT station
• using a no-transfer same-vehicle LRT for the loop, distinct from the OCTranspo LRT vehicles for the east-west route
• construct a cycling lane on the POW bridge similar to that on the Alexandra Bridge

we don't like the following:

• STO transitway or rapibus service to a transfer station at Bayview
• converting the Prince of Wales to a bus bridge in order to convert it back to rail in the future
• using surface rail over the Chaudiere bridge if that bridge remains open to car and truck traffic, due to congestion delays
• lumping all the present and future renovation costs of the interprovincial bridges onto the LRT option when the same repairs will be required without the LRT option
• far distant completion dates. The first phase of the loop, and the DOTT, should be ready for the 2017 sesquetennial celebrations.

Thank you for considering our views.



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Eric Darwin.
President, Dalhousie Community Assoc.
http://www.ottawadalhousie.ca/